Westminster Man arrested for Possession of a Stolen Vehicle

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Westminster man Monday evening on a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle. 26-year-old Joshua Hank Cope was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center. A deputy on routine patrol spotted a vehicle in the parking lot of a business on Highway 123 near Seneca that matched the description of a vehicle that was reported stolen to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office earlier in the day. The deputy obtained the license plate number on the 2010 gray Honda Accord and confirmed that the vehicle was stolen. The deputy also received word from dispatch that the vehicle was entered into the National Crimes Information Center database as stolen. The lone occupant and driver of the vehicle, Cope, was asked by deputies to step out of the vehicle. Cope told the deputies that he had obtained the vehicle from a friend. However, deputies contacted the owner of the vehicle. The owner stated that a family member, who was in possession of the vehicle, never gave anyone permission to drive the vehicle. Based upon information gathered as a result of the investigation, Cope was placed under arrest and transported to the Oconee County Detention Center on the possession of a stolen vehicle charge. Cope remains in custody at the Detention Center pending a bond hearing.